(LifeSiteNews) — A former leader of “Operation Warp Speed” resigned rather than be fired from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Dr. Peter Marks, who played a key role in the first Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed to develop Covid-19 vaccines, stepped down [March 28],” the Wall Street Journal reported last week. “He submitted his resignation after a Health and Human Services official earlier in the day gave him the choice to resign or be fired, people familiar with the matter said.”

New FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, a well-respected medical expert, reportedly wanted Marks gone.

The dangerous, abortion-tainted COVID jabs, developed under Marks’ watch, have faced scrutiny not just for the bioethical concerns, but also because they did not clearly stop the spread of the virus. Furthermore, they have been linked to numerous serious health problems, including heart inflammation, stroke, infertility, and death.

“It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the Secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,” Marks claimed in his resignation letter, complaining to, and about, his boss, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hit back at Marks, noting that it is working toward re-establishing the “gold standard” of evidence-based science.

“If Peter Marks does not want to get behind restoring science to its golden standard and promoting radical transparency, then he has no place at FDA under the strong leadership of Secretary Kennedy,” an HHS official told the Wall Street Journal.

The decision drew praise from James Bovard, a senior fellow at the Brownstone Institute. “There have been successful vaccines that saved millions of lives,” he wrote. “But the Covid vaccine was a political fix from the start, Americans deserve a full accounting of the risks behind the injection that Biden sought to compel. Hopefully, the Trump administration will open the files and disclose hard facts ASAP.”

Others also celebrated Marks’ resignation.

“Peter Marks circumvented FDA’s advisors on COVID boosters, spurred the resignations of top vaccine regulators, and unilaterally approved a Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug that just killed a teenager,” Daily Caller reporter Emily Kopp wrote on X.  “Many will sanitize his record for political purposes, but I have a long memory.”

Kopp previously worked for U.S. Right to Know, a public health transparency group.

Peter Marks circumvented FDA’s advisors on COVID boosters, spurred the resignations of top vaccine regulators, and unilaterally approved a Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug that just killed a teenager. Many will sanitize his record for political purposes, but I have a long memory. pic.twitter.com/dhY7XlZ5r4

— Emily Kopp (@emilyakopp) March 29, 2025

Left-leaning independent journalist Michael Shellenberger wrote that it’s good news, despite what the media says, that Marks it out of his job. “A new Public investigation finds that Peter Marks was behind: the approval of two dangerous and failed drugs; the forcing out of scientists to get Covid vax mandates; and Covid vax for young kids.”

Kennedy has worked to restore trust to the HHS and reform it, following years of questionable policies.

Under President Joe Biden, the HHS pressured medical groups to endorse transgender drugs and surgeries for minors, while also pushing a pro-abortion agenda.

Now, the HHS is looking at a variety of issues relating to vaccines, food, and chronic diseases. For example, it will study the link between vaccines and autism.

“Everything is going to change,” when it comes to vaccine policy, Kennedy recently told conservative commentator Michael Knowles.

“None of the vaccines that are given during the first six months of life have ever been tested for autism. The only one was the DTP vaccine,” he said. “And that one study that was done, according to the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences, found that there was a link.”

Secretary Kennedy has also laid off 10,000 workers as part of a restructuring of the department.

“Over time, bureaucracies like HHS become wasteful and inefficient even when most of their staff are dedicated and competent civil servants,” Kennedy stated. “This overhaul will be a win-win for taxpayers and for those that HHS serves. That’s the entire American public, because our goal is to Make America Healthy Again.”